Anyone not doing baby led weaning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did BLW because I was too cheap/lazy to buy purées and/or make them. I did a few like sweet potatoes and applesauce but mostly did soft foods to start like yogurt, oatmeal, avocado and then pretty quickly moved into whatever we had on hand. Like I said, fair amount of laziness in my part. I liked Solid Starts philosophy that bigger is better for young babies and choking so we have tons of large fruit—jumbo strawberries, banana spears, large slices of melon, mango pits (still a favorite at 15 months), strips of steak, large pizza crust. I really sat and was 100% attentive to him at first out of paranoia so I really got a sense of how he handled food and responded to sticking things all the way in his mouth.

I followed all the Instagram pages for months before starting so I was pretty confident in knowing what to expect and watch out for allergy and choking wise. One thing I learned that made me feel better is that younger babies have a better gag reflex to prevent choking than older babies. So (supposedly!) it’s actually better to start early to teach babies how to chew and swallow while that reflex is still present than later on when it’s not as strong. I’m not an expert and may not be 100% accurate on this, so please feel free to research and correct me! But I thought it may be reassuring to know as you get started!

But also, however you want to feed your baby is fine. Everyone has an opinion on everything (like breastfeeding ba formula) and starting solids is just another opportunity for annoying people to push their opinions on moms. (No one ever told my husband what to feed the baby!) Pick and choose what works for you and your family.

I do a combo because baby led weaning is way more work!!! I read solid starts but cutting the food up into pieces that are safe is more work than purees. I'd still have to prepare food differently for her than for me. Not to mention it's just so hard for me to get time in the kitchen to do that kind of work without her crying. I do feed her bits of what I'm eating at times if I think it is safe but even those are not usually consistent with BLW. Plus the clean up is so much more work! Daycare purees the soft foods for me and I have some ready made purees of meat that I include. Since most of her solid food intake is daycare she is mostly on purees. I was initially all about BLW then then reality of solo parenting hit hard and I do the easier and less anxiety provoking way.

[Anonymous]

Didn’t do it but did make own purées

[Anonymous]

I think for my first child I would have been too scared for BLW. I spent hours making purees from scratch.

With my second I was more confident, and more busy, and I gave her table food from the start. I didn't "read up on" BLW or anything else. Just have her tiny pieces of our food. The only puree type things she got were applesauce and yogurt. And it was fine.

Just do whatever you're more comfortable with. Fed is fed. The only "better" way is what works better for you, and that will change over time.